


High Tide

by Exdraghunt



Series: TUGS [4]
Category: TUGS (TV)
Genre: Gen, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-04 12:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1081077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exdraghunt/pseuds/Exdraghunt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crack written after marathoning too many episodes. Part 4 of TUGS series. Carries on from "Christmas in Bigg City"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

After a few days spent as humans, whatever anomaly had caused the incident suddenly turned them back. Bigg City Harbor and its residents were back to normal. Well, most of them.

It had been almost two months since the incident and spring was just beginning. With warmer weather, the iced up harbor started breaking up and shipping could begin again in full swing. Logging operations got underway once more, keeping the Star tugs busy.

After a winter of sitting around doing small jobs, Hercules was ready to get back out on the open sea. However, this season, he was nervous. He hadn’t told anyone, but whatever had turned them human hadn’t left him completely. Yes, he was a tug once more, but his human body remained frustratingly solid. Even when his consciousness was in his tug body, the human form was left laying unconscious where ever he had been until he returned to it. Worse, he still had a drive to eat. He could go a day, maybe two, before he had to find a sandwich or something. Hopefully, the urge would fade once he was out alone at sea.

Secured up to a large lumber schooner to take up the coast, Hercules headed out of the harbor and into the open ocean. The seas were still high and rough, but it was a relief to escape the close quarters of the harbor for a little while. He had only been out for two days, though, when it became apparent that he wasn’t fully recovered from the winter. Giving in, Hercules headed in towards shore and found a harbor where he could moor and rest. The cushion of the captain’s chair in his wheelhouse produced a few dollars, which was enough to buy him a grilled cheese and some provisions for the next couple days at a small greasy spoon on shore.

After a few hours of sleep in the quarters behind his wheelhouse, Hercules felt refreshed enough to set back out again. Another two days at full steam and the Swiftsure lightship came into view. He was at the entrance to the Straight of Jaun de Fuca, which meant he was almost to his destination.

As he came into the Seattle harbor, he was greeted by a deep-throated whistle from a green and white liveried tug. “Oh, hello Arthur m’dear.”

“Well hey Hercules,” Arthur Foss, a large ocean-tug from the Foss company, steamed slowly past with a log boom behind him, “Long time no see. How’d you folks weather the winter down south?”

“Oh, same old. Not as bad as that ice last winter, thank goodness.”

“I hear ya,” Arthur laughed and continued on his way north, “Well, I’m headed south for Frisco, maybe I’ll see you in transit.”

“Alright sweetheart, I’ll see you later.”

The delivery of the lumber schooner went as usual, then Hercules found moorage for the evening. Going out into the city with a bit of money in his pocket, the ocean tug stocked up for his return trip. Clearly, he wasn’t going to be able to last the multi day trip without eating.

Slowly, Hercules settled into a routine. He stocked up his galley with simple to make, cheap foods that would last through the long trips. Cravings took him by surprise, an incredible, overwhelming urge for some odd, specific food. Through sheer force of will, Hercules tamped down the feelings. He didn’t have the money to spend on whatever crazy food his human body desired.

There were also bouts of nausea in high seas that found him puking over his side, an amazingly unpleasant experience. The solution, then, was to only spend time in his human body when the seas were calm. Hercules was nothing if not stubborn, and he did not want to involve Captain Star in his petty problems.

And so this went on for several months. Hercules was isolating himself more and more. The money he usually spent on movies was going towards food, so he hadn’t gone into town to see Lucy since the end of winter. The frequent eating was also having an affect on his human form. He was gaining weight, and it was becoming rather noticable. Hercules exchanged his usual sailor’s uniform for a lumpy yellow knit sweater that helped disguise his body and stayed out on the water as often as he could.

Springtime in Bigg City and the harbor was bustling. Captain Star was being kept busy in his office with paperwork for the various contracts his tugs had when he noticed that one tug had developed an odd expenditure habit. Frowning, he called Hercules into his office.

The big ocean tug entered a few minutes later, the hunch of his shoulders and his baggy sweater not quite hiding the way his midsection had begun to bulge out. The Captain’s eyes widened in surprise at how tired and haggard his tug looked, “Are you alright, Hercules?”

“Of course, Captain Star,” Hercules straightened up self-consciously, “Why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve been going through your pocket change pretty quickly lately,” The Captain flipped through his paperwork idly, “And you also appear to have gained weight. I know a tug’s human illusion doesn’t change so drastically unless something is wrong.”

Hercules shifted nervously before sighing, “I’m sorry for not telling you. Apparently, I didn’t go completely back to normal after Christmas. I’ve been spending money on food.”

“On food?” He had never heard of tugs needing to eat, except for the brief time they had turned human over the holidays. How would he fix his tug if he didn’t know what was wrong? “You’ve been eating? And that’s caused weight gain in your human form?”

“I guess. I’ve tried to stop eating, but I can’t. It’s –“ Hercules suddenly stopped short and pressed a hand to his abdomen. His eyes went wide and his breath started coming faster.

“What’s wrong?” The Captain got up from his chair and went over to his tug.

“I- I don’t know.” He was trying to keep calm, but it was clear the ocean tug was scared. “I’ve felt a bit off the last few weeks. But. Now it kind of hurts. I don’t know what it is.”

“Take off your shirt.” Captain Star tried to keep calm, but inside he was panicking. This wasn’t something he had any experience with.

The ugly sweater flickered and vanished, exposing Hercules’ upper body. It didn’t look quite how the Captain had expected. The tug’s body was as hard and toned as it had always been, except for right below his ribcage where his stomach suddenly bulged out. It certainly didn’t look like fat or weight gain from food. In fact…

Captain Star pressed a hand against Hercules’ navel and frowned at the slight, fluttering movement he felt. “Did you have sex while you were human?” It didn’t seem possible, but many strange things happened around living ships.

Hercules sputtered at the question, cheeks burning red. “I-I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure?”

“Well. I was very drunk. And I went home with a sailor, but I don’t remember what happened,” Given that he had woken up in the other man’s bed without clothes and a sore crotch, it was pretty likely something had happened.

“Right. Well, you sit down and wait here. I’m going to call my wife down here. I think I know what’s wrong.” He directed the tug towards a comfy office chair and sat him down. This was crazy, and he didn’t want to believe it. But the evidence was there.

Patricia Star arrived several minutes later, a small bag in hand. “You sounded pretty worried over the telephone, honey. What’s wrong?”

“Could you take a look at Hercules here?” Captain Star took his wife aside and whispered something to her too soft for the tug to hear.

Patricia’s face became serious and she approached Hercules carefully. Motioning for him to stand, she pressed her hands softly against the swell of his stomach. He shifted uncomfortably, but didn’t protest the treatment. It got even more embarassing when she had him drop his pants so she could get a good look, but then it was over and Patricia made her proclamation.

“Looks like you’re around midway through the second trimester of pregnancy,” She had been a nurse and midwife for many years, and had seen many a pregnant woman. It all looked fairly typical, except for the fact that this was a tugboat, not a human.

Hercules wavered on his feet and fell back into his chair, utterly overwhelmed. One hand drifted to rest on his belly, where he could still feel slight fluttering movements. He was pregnant? As in, with a human baby? How was that even possible? “How? But, what am I supposed to do?”

“Well, we’re going to have to have a conversation about this,” Captain Star tried to keep calm, but already a hundred different things were running through his head. Disregarding the entire impossibility of what was happening, there was also his business to think about. “You can’t continue going out to sea on long trips in this condition. You should be able to keep doing harbor jobs though. I’ll scheduale time for you to have lunch and dinner breaks.” He was already planning, thinking of different contacts he could call to ask about chartering an ocean tug to pick up the slack. And, of course, there was the big question of what to do with the baby once it was born. Because really, a tug couldn’t be expected to raise a child. Living ships worked long hours without breaks for little to no pay. It was no environment for a baby.

Looking up, the captain realized that his tug had the arms of the chair in a death grip and looked terrified. “Look, we can talk more tomorrow. You have the rest of the day off. Go get some dinner and some sleep, alright?”

Hercules stood shakily and walked out the door. Captain Star breathed a sigh of relief and sat down in his desk chair. His wife gave him a sympathetic look and sat on the edge of the desk. “So what are you going to do?”

Captain Star groaned and rubbed his face with his hands, “I don’t know. There’s a reason I didn’t go into the medical profession like you did. How am I supposed to deal with a pregnant tug? He can’t possibly raise a child, or live a human life.”

“Fortunately, you have me to help out.” Patricia rubbed her husband’s shoulders, “You were right, he can’t keep going out to sea on long trips. But he should still be able to work, for another few months at least. Just keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn’t over work himself. And. You know, we were trying for a baby for years.” It was a point of contention between the couple, and eventually they had decided to give up.

That was a solution, admittedly. They were in a financially stable place, Patricia was working steadily and his marine business was going great. The two had spoken a bit about adoption for awhile, but found the paperwork too daunting. “I’ll talk to Hercules about it tomorrow.”

“Okay, honey. I’ll see you tonight. I have a client to go see,” She gave her husband a kiss and walked out the door.

Captain Star sighed and picked up the phone, going through his contacts to see if there was anyone with an ocean tug he could charter for a few months.

 

Hercules, meanwhile, had retreated to his wheelhouse and was laid out on the small, hard bunk. Both hands were resting on the swell of his abdomen as he tried to make sense of what was going on. The baby had stopped moving, but he could still feel the subtle weight on his hips. What was he going to do? This was such a human thing to be dealing with, he had no frame of reference for such a thing. He would have to stop doing his usual work, that was clear. He would be stuck on harbor duty for the next few months with the other tugs. And Captain Star would be monitoring him closely, of course.

That was just the next few months, though. After that, there would be a baby to deal with. A living, breathing, human baby. Well, he assumed it would be human anyway. It was too weird to even think about any other option. Hercules knew right off that there was no chance he’d be able to raise a human child by himself. He was an ocean going tug, it was his nature to spend days out at sea with no contact from others. Though Hercules enjoyed the company of his friends, he also craved the time out alone. After winter kept him cooped up at port going out to sea had been a breath of fresh air. He didn’t know how he could handle another four months or so stuck in port.

Eventually, Hercules fell into an uneasy sleep. The next morning, he was awoken by the other tugs as they started up for the day. 0630 sharp and Captain Star doled out the assignments for the day. Hercules sat through the briefing, and wasn’t surprised at all when he wasn’t given an assignment. Instead, he was called into the Captain’s office for another chat.

It was time for a serious talk. They needed to hash out what the next few months would be like. Hercules would be doing small jobs, car floats and ferry duty so that he could get his lunch and dinner breaks. He would get time off whenever he needed it, and the Captain would enforce that he took the last month of his pregnancy off. Hercules didn’t like the idea of taking so long off, and shook his head when Captain Star suggested staying at his house rather than down on the wharf. He had gotten himself into this situation and didn’t want to be more of a bother than he already was.

Then Captain Star repeated his wife’s suggestion of their taking the baby after it was born. Hercules breathed a sigh of relief and agreed almost immediately. It was really the best solution, and would give him much peace of mind knowing that option was there.

Conversation done with, Captain Star dismissed Hercules. The tug was still too worked up to be trusted out working, so he told Hercules firmly to take the day off and go relax.

With a crisp ten dollar bill in his pocket, Hercules headed into town to find some breakfast. One of his instructions from Patricia had been to eat small meals fairly frequently. There were a number of small dirty diners down on the waterfront, so he picked a nice hole in the wall with a good view of the harbor. The waitress flirted with him a bit, but Hercules just smiled tiredly and took a seat out on the balcony over the water.

What he really wanted to do was go visit Lucy and talk to someone human that wasn’t his owner, but she worked the morning shift and wouldn’t get off work for another several hours. So instead he took a walk down along the water. Left alone with his thoughts, it was a little overwhelming to think about everything that was going on. Out on the edge of the harbor there was a nice, empty wood dock. Taking his shoes off, Hercules sat down and let the water lap at his toes. One hand slipped under his sweater to rub at his belly, where the baby apparently didn’t appreciate that he had stopped walking.

Down below him the water was very clear, letting him watch the tiny fish dart around his feet. Suddenly, a huge grey shape came into view. With an explosion of bubbles, Grampus surfaced a few feet away from the dock, “Hi Hercules. What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Grampus darling.” Hercules heaved a large sigh, “Just felt like sitting alone for awhile. There’s a lot going on right now.”

“Well, if you’d like to talk about it I’m a good listener,” Throwing out a few mooring lines, Grampus transferred to his human form and climbed up onto the dock next to the ocean tug.

Hercules and Captain Star had talked about whether they should tell the other tugs about the pregnancy, and came to the conclusion that there was no way to hide what was going on from the other Star Tugs. It wasn’t something they wanted spread to the rest of the harbor, but Grampus and the Star tugs could be trusted to keep important things quiet.

“It’s just a giant mess,” There really wasn’t anyway to sugarcoat this, he might as well just come out and say it, “The human thing over Christmas is still getting to me. I’m currently five months pregnant, and there’s not much I can do about it until it’s over.”

Whatever Grampus was expecting, that certainly wasn’t it. His eyes immediately drifted down to Hercules’ midsection, where the tug had obviously begun to show. “That . . that does sound like a mess. Have you told anyone else?”

“Captain Star knows, and I’ll probably tell the other Stars. And I’m going to see Lucy later today. Lillie too. But I don’t want anyone else in the harbor to know. This isn’t exactly normal.”

“The news won’t spread beyond me, I swear.” Grampus promised. The two sat in companionable silence for awhile, then the conversation turned to other things. Mostly harbor gossip courtesy of Grampus, though Hercules could provide some news from the northern harbors that he frequented.

After a few hours of just sitting and idly talking, Hercules felt the first pangs of hunger that meant it was time for lunch. He was going to need to get used to eating regularly instead of waiting until the urge got desperate. With a groan he heaved himself to his feet and popped his shoes back on, “Well, Grampus m’dear, it’s lunch time for me. I’m going to wander back towards the Star dock. Thanks for the chat.”

“Of course, Hercules. I’m always around if you want to talk,” Grampus saluted and his human form vanished.

Feeling bit better, Hercules headed back towards the Star Tug marina. The baby started moving around when he stood up, but calmed back down during the long walk and Hercules felt almost normal again.

Captain Star had a neatly wrapped sandwich waiting for him in the office when he arrived, though the captain himself was busy handling phone calls. Hercules sat down quietly, then dug in.

“Enjoying your day off?” Captain Star had been chatting with Foss tug and barge, who had an ocean tug he could charter. The tug Iver Foss was now headed south to join the Star team for a few months.

“I took a walk and had a bit of a chat with Grampus. I told him what’s going on and everything,” Hercules finished off the sandwich and downed the bottle of water that had been set out on the table.

“Sounds great. I’m glad you’re talking with others about this,” The phone rang and the captain sighed before picking it up, “Enjoy the rest of your day. Hello, Star Tug and Marine, Captain Star speaking.”

Cleaning up the table, Hercules threw away his trash and headed back out the door. Lucy should be getting off work, so he turned and headed for the drugstore where she worked. She was very surprised to see him, and he frankly couldn’t blame her. He hadn’t been to see her in three months, after all.

“Oh, Hercules! It’s so good to see you,” Lucy gave him a quick hug, causing the tug to stiffen up. No matter how much time he spent around humans, he would never get used to their habit of physical affection. “It feels like it’s been ages. Where have you been?”

“I’ve been busy up the coast, darling. It’s prime shipping season.” Hercules tried to keep flippant, as usual, but mostly he felt tired. “I’ll tell you more about it back at your apartment. But I will be having more free time the next few months, so I hope you won’t get tired of my face.”

“I could never get tired of you, ya big lug,” She gave him a playful poke to the side, then frowned when she found more bulk there than she was used to. “Are you . . getting fat?”

Hercules grunted at the poke and grumbled, “It’s. .complicated. I’ll tell you at your apartment.”

“I’m holding you to that.” Lucy changed the topic and told him all about what had been going on the last few months while he had been gone as they walked back to her apartment.

The minute she closed to door to her apartment, though, she became serious and rounded on him, “Alright, buster. What’s going on?”

“I’m pregnant,” Hercules blurted it out and sat down heavily on the couch, “Five months along. I had a drunken tryst with a sailor when we were human, and now this happened.”

“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Lucy sat down next to him gently, “Are you okay?”

That question made him pause for a moment and think, “Well, I think so. I’m fine right now at least. No word on the next few months. Captain Star’s wife is a nurse, so she’s going to be keeping an eye on me. Since I can’t go to a human hospital. I’m not looking forward to being cooped up in port for the next couple months.”

“Well, you can always come here if you need to get away from people. I’ll give you a key to the apartment.” She wrapped an arm around him and started rubbing his back. Hercules tensed up at the touch, but slowly relaxed at the sensation. “I helped my sister through two pregnancies, and I’m here for you too.”

“Thanks, Lucy,” It was nice to have an option for retreat, but he was more likely to go out to the harbor entrance when he felt the need to get away. Still, he appreciated having a human friend that wasn’t his owner that he could talk to. The backrub was also feeling pretty good, he hadn’t realized how much his back hurt from walking around all day.

After a few minutes, his eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep against the arm of the couch. Lucy smiled and draped a blanket over him, then wandered over to the kitchen to start cooking dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Hercules was sent to work with Frank and Eddie the car floats. Top Hat was rather put out, since that meant he would be stuck with coal deliveries, but at least he wasn’t stuck with garbage. Frank and Eddie were disappointed that they didn’t have Top Hat around to tease, since Hercules didn’t respond nearly as amusingly to their jibes. Fortunately, the two chatterboxes were more than capable of entertaining themselves. 

 

Lunch break, then there were a few tramp steamers than needed escort in from the harbor. Hercules towed a south-bound schooner out to the harbor entrance, then he was done for the day. Dinner was ready and waiting for him in the office, as was Patricia intending to give him a full checkup. The checkup was fairly invasive and unpleasant, then he was subject to a stern talking to on just what he could expect over the next few months. He was not looking forward to the third trimester at all. 

 

The other tugs had come back into harbor by then, so it was time to break the news to the other Star tugs. Hercules couldn’t keep it under wraps for very long, might as well get it over with. 

 

Their reactions were pretty much what he expected, honestly. Shocked silence was the main result, and Warrior fell of out of his chair in surprise. OJ recovered first, as the oldest he’d seen just about everything and very little surprised him anymore. Standing, the old paddle tug patted Hercules on the shoulder and solemnly stated that they would all be there for him whenever he needed. Big Mac quickly chimed in with his agreement, which brought in the other tugs. 

 

Though he had anticipated such a response, Hercules still felt oddly overwhelmed by the amount of support the other Stars were showing him. He suspected it was the result of the heightened emotions he had been told to expect. His legs felt a bit weak, so he pulled up his usual chair and sank into it with relief. 

 

There was a scraping sound as Ten Cents and Sunshine scooched their chaired closer, the two young switchers looking at him in fascination. Hercules raised an eyebrow and tried to keep from laughing at their eager faces, “Yes?”

 

“Well, we was jus’ wonderin’.” “I mean, we ain’t never seen nothin’ like this.” “I mean, uh, could we, uh, could we touch?”

 

It took Hercules a minute to figure out what the switchers were asking with them tripping over themselves, but after a moment he realized that they wanted to touch his belly. He was quite tempted to say no, considering he wasn’t terribly fond of being touched in human form, but gave in at the sight of their eager faces and lifted his shirt. 

 

Despite their eagerness, Ten Cents and Sunshine were gentle as they pressed their hands against the bulge of his abdomen. The look on their faces was worth it, and after a moment they went back to their respective chairs and let him put his shirt back down. 

 

“Wow, tha’s weird. Can ye feel it move an’ stuff?” Sunshine asked curiously, keeping his chair close. 

 

“Sometimes. Not right now, though. I think it’s gone to sleep.” The chair was getting more and more comfortable the longer he sat there, which meant he should probably get up and go to bed. With a sigh, Hercules heaved himself out of his chair and headed for his body down at the end of the dock, “I’ll see you all tomorrow, m’dears.”

 

“Goodnight, Hercules.” The others chorused from the dock. 

 

The few weeks continued much the same way. Hercules split his time between car floats and harbor escort work, the sort of busybody work normally given to the smaller tugs. It was fairly regular, mind numbing work. The other, more sociable tugs enjoyed working with the travelling tramp steamers, but quite frankly Hercules was starting to crave some alone time away from everyone. Lunch time in the office with Captain Star was a safe haven, especially since the Captain was usually too busy for small talk, and when the small room got too overwhelming he went out by Lillie’s station and just weighed anchor for awhile. Lillie was always a pleasure to talk to, and understood his need for peace and quiet. 

 

There was also the fact that the baby seemed to be growing at an alarming rate now that he knew about it. Which meant that -he- was growing quite quickly. It felt like his belly was getting larger every day, making him go from slightly self conscious to almost unwilling to go ashore. The baby was also moving around much more often, making for sleepless nights and unpleasant distractions. He couldn’t even escape from it in his real body. The discomfort bled over, making his hull feel sore and engine ache. It was making him irritable, which was even more reason to steer clear of other ships for awhile. 

 

Hercules was fueling up at the coal depo when he heard an incredibly unwelcome voice. 

 

“Hello, hello, what’s this then?” Zorran pulled up alongside him and started taking coal aboard as well, “Ya know, I can’t remember th’ las’ time I saw you leave port, Hercules. What’s wrong, giving up the ocean-going business?”

 

“None of your business, Zorran,” The baby had kept him up half the night and he was not in the mood for dealing with a snarky Zero tug. “I suggest you concern yourself with the Z-stacks and don’t worry about what the Stars are doing.”

 

“No need for hostility, just trying to be neighborly,” Though he tried to sound cocky, Zorran was always a bit wary around Hercules. The ocean tug was the only tugboat in the harbor large enough to take him on and sink him if he got the notion, and Zorran had a healthy respect for that kind of power. “I always figured that old paddle steamer to be the first for retirement.”

 

“No need for concern, old boy. I’m nowhere near retiring age. Just a few months in the harbor this summer.” Wake from a passing steamer bumped him against the dock and Hercules grumbled in irritation. Too bad he couldn’t make coal load any faster. 

 

“Ah, Hercules, there you are.” The mild voice of Iver Foss was a welcome addition to the conversation as the green and white ocean tug pulled up to wait his turn at the coal depo. “Captain Star was asking for you. We’ve got a large cargo ship that was damaged at sea coming in. I’m going out to meet it as soon as I’m fuelled up, but I need your assistance on the tow.”

 

“I’ll be right there, darling.” Hercules gave his whistle a hoot to signal that he was done fuelling up and eased away from the coal dock. “Toodle-oo Zorran.”

 

The Z-stack watched with a frown as the ocean tug steamed away towards the harbor entrance. 

 

Out at the harbor bar, the MV Seaspray was waiting for them. The entire starboard side above the water line was stove in, the result of a collision with another ship. Said guilty party, a large tramp steamer, was sitting by with a dented bow. The cargo ship was lucky, a few inches lower and she probably would’ve gone straight to the bottom. The other Star tugs were waiting alongside, but needed the ocean tugs to actually take the ship in. It would be a delicate process, they needed to go slow because any wake would get water up in the ship and swamp her. 

 

Hercules took the bow, he had more experience than Iver and a more powerful engine. Stepping out onto his stern, Hercules caught a heaving line thrown down from the Seaspray and pulled in a thick line. With a grunt, he slowly knelt down and cleated the line on his stern. The lack of ability to bend in the middle was becoming more and more of a problem lately. With the line secure, he heaved himself back to his feet and headed for his wheelhouse. 

 

Warrior and OJ threw up lines on the port side, their job was to keep tension on the lines and try to keep the ship from heeling to starboard. Big Mac and Top Hat, meanwhile, had the delicate job of pushing up against the starboard side to keep the big ship stable. Iver took the ship’s stern, butting up against it to use his engines to keep the strain off Hercules’ line. 

 

The group slowly made their way into the harbor, Hercules out at front tooting his whistle to warn all shipping to get out of their way. Ten Cents and Sunshine had already gone ahead and warned Lucky, so the dry dock was on the water waiting for them to come in. Warrior and OJ put tension on the lines and brought the ship to a stop, letting Hercules release his line and peel off. 

 

Divers from Lucky’s went in the water to scout the hull of the ship and map out where chocks were needed to get the Seaspray supported up out of the water, then the dry dock was prepared and submerged for them. Ten Cents and Sunshine then moved in to take over the side push, easing the ship into the dry dock with Iver pushing from the stern. With the Sea Spray secure, Ten Cents and Sunshine pulled out, then Iver backed off and let the dry dock start to raise. They had done it. 

 

“Good job Stars,” Hercules smiled and congratulated his team. The crew of the Seaspray cheered from the top of the ship, bouying the tug’s spirits as they headed back for the Star dock. It was a job well done. 

 

Back at the dock, the other Star tugs took on new assignments while Hercules went on his lunch break. 

 

“How’d it go?” Captain Star taking a rare free moment to organize his desk and clean up the filing. 

 

“Pretty well. She’s up in dry dock now at Lucky’s yard, not a problem in transit,” Hercules eased himself down into his usual chair, his lunch neatly wrapped up on the table in front of him. He opened up the sandwich and leaned back, one hand rubbing at his belly where the baby had been getting more active as it was growing. “Sunshine and Ten Cents did a great job getting her into the dock.”

 

“Glad to hear.” The Captain finished up his filing and walked over to sit next to his tug, “And how are you doing? Not working yourself too hard?”

 

Hercules frowned. The others had really been coddling him the last few weeks, and it was starting to get on his nerves, “I’m just fine Captain. I’m perfectly capable of pulling my weight around here, even if I do weigh a little more than I used to.”

 

Captain Star sighed. His tugs were like his family, and sometime his sons needed a talking to. He knew Hercules was just stressed out from the whole situation, but he couldn’t have the tug overworking himself from some misguided work drive. “Look, you don’t need to run yourself into the ground. This company isn’t hurting for work or money, we aren’t going to take a sudden dive if you take some time off. You keeping healthy is more important than car floats or tramp escorting. If you’re tired or not feeling well, just tell me and take the time off.”

 

His tug didn’t respond and focused resolutely on his lunch. He had heard, though, and the Captain just hoped that Hercules wouldn’t stress himself out too bad. He had another two months, then Captain Star was forcing him to take that last month before the birth off. 

 

“Alright, once you’re done with lunch they’re doing some dredging out at the harbor mouth. If you could go over and pick up Mighty Mo, then stay with him until dinner time and bring him back.”

 

“Yes, sir,” Hercules finished up and pushed himself to his feet. Dredger duty was a job that required hours of sitting in place and was normally given to the small switchers. More busy work to keep him occupied without strain. At least it wasn’t Scuttlebutt Pete, the harbor’s biggest gossip. 

 

Lashed securely up to Mighty Mo, Hercules steamed out to the dredging site and positioned the floating crane where he could put down his spikes. Once they were in place, Hercules doused his boiler and decided to take an afternoon nap. He wouldn’t be needed again until Mighty Mo needed taking back home. 

 

The gentle rocking of the waves was quick to put him to sleep up in the wheelhouse. He was sleeping in his human form now a days, which was more difficult than it sounded. The bed in his wheelhouse was hard, narrow, and uncomfortable, but he wasn’t about to complain. Captain Star had bigger things to worry about than getting him a comfy bed. 

 

The dreams he was getting were another story. Patricia had warned him that pregnancy could cause weird dreams, but this was a little ridiculous. He had just jerked awake from yet another nightmare that ended in him giving birth to a tiny, full formed tugboat to the sound of Mighty Mo calling for him. 

 

“Just a second, darling,” Hercules sighed and fired his boiler back up, “Give me a few minutes to get up some steam pressure.”

 

“You doin’ alright, there, Hercules?” Great, even Mighty Mo was worried about him. The harbor cranes had little contact with the ocean tug, but even they could tell that something was up. 

 

“Just fine, sweetheart.” Hercules checked to make sure all lines were secure, then started cycling steam through his engine to warm it back up, “If you’ll pull up your stakes, I can take you back in.”

 

The trip back was short and uneventful. Hercules picked up his dinner at the office, then decided to head out and visit Lillie to eat it. He had the urge to go and just sit out past the harbor bar for awhile. 

 

Lillie’s light flickered on as he approached, guiding him towards Dender rocks. He whistled in greeting as he approached, drifting in to raft up on her leeward side. 

 

“Hello, Hercules dear.” Lillie came out to catch his lines and secure them, then lightly hopped down onto his deck. She didn’t want to make him try and climb up onto her higher deck in his condition. 

 

“Good evening, Lillie darling.” It took Hercules a moment to climb down from his wheelhouse onto his stern deck. He pulled out a pair of folding chairs that he had taken to keeping around, then sat down and pulled out his dinner. 

 

“How’d the day go? I hear you brought in a damaged cargo ship this morning.” Lillie took the other chair and scooted until she was touching his side, matching the position of their real bodies. 

 

“The Seaspray, yes. Her starboard side was stove in from a collision out at sea, we brought her into Lucky’s. Fortunately, we had Iver Foss to take the stern, she was a big one.” Hercules dug into his sandwich, one hand rubbing at a sore spot on his side. The baby’s weight was beginning to be a strain on his back and side. He didn’t know how human women dealt with this, his human body didn’t even have the full feeling that a real human did. The next couple months were going to be even worse, and Hercules was beginning to consider taking Captain Star up on his offer of taking time off. 

 

“Sounds like quite the job. And how are you doing?” She was watching him with some concern. 

 

“Oh, I’ll be alright,” And, of course, that’s when the baby decided to start moving. It wasn’t painful, just uncomfortable to suddenly have something pressing up against his ribs. “Just got another three and a half months of this.”

 

“Well, don’t work yourself too hard.” Lillie reached over and started kneading his side helpfully. Hercules groaned in relief and shifted in his seat, allowing the treatment from one of his closest friends. “Oh, oh my, I felt it move. Does it do that often?”

 

“Often enough. Usually when I’m trying to sleep. Or in the middle of a job,” Hercules had a dim awareness of his human body even when not in it, and often got caught by surprise in the middle of jobs by kicks and jabs. 

 

“Poor dear,” Lillie kept up the massage as they sat out and watched the sun set. Hercules could’ve stayed out there all night, but knew he would be in trouble if he didn’t go back to the Star Dock for the evening. 

 

After a few hours with Lillie, he relit his boiler and started back up. The sun had set and it was time to go home. Bidding Lillie farewell, he sailed back in to port. 

 

The weeks continued to pass much the same. Hercules was spending more time on dredger duty with Mighty Mo as Captain Star tried to find low stress jobs for him to work at. It was getting harder for him to move about in human form, so it was necessary for him to find work that didn’t require catching and securing lines. That meant harbor escort duty was out, though he could still work with Frank and Eddie the car floats as well as the dredgers. 

When he wasn’t working, Lucy always dropped by on her way home from the department store to visit with him and maybe try to tempt him out to a show. Also in the pursuit of keeping him busy, and keeping tabs on his health, were Patricia’s weekly checkups. Always held on Sundays before the other Stars woke up for the morning, she liked to give him a thorough look over to make sure he and the baby were doing okay. 

It was a grey Sunday morning in Bigg City. Hercules groaned as he rolled out of bed and prepared to go up the dock for one of his checkups. He had just hit the seven-month mark, and was certain he had at least doubled in size in the last two months. Self-consciously, he tugged on the lower hem of his shirt to make sure it covered all of his belly. 

Carefully, Hercules climbed down the boat deck ladder onto his main deck before pausing for a breather. Shortness of breath had become a major hindrance in the last few weeks. As the baby grew, it pressed up against his ribcage and compressed his lungs. More than once, Hercules had woken himself when he had inadvertently rolled onto his back and found himself unable to breathe. 

Once outside, Hercules sat on his gunwale and took a moment to enjoy the early morning. The sun had not yet burned off the cloud cover, leaving the city and harbor shrouded in grey mist, and the only sounds were the lapping of the turning tide and the distant blare of Lillie’s foghorn. His love of the early morning calm was only tempered by the low tide that meant a steeper walk up to the head of the dock. 

“Mornin’ lad. Care to escort an old man to the top of the dock?”

Hercules smiled at the familiar voice and turned to see OJ’s human form standing by his bow. “Good morning, old darling. I would love to take an early morning stroll with a friend.” He knew full well that OJ had no problem getting around despite the cane that he carried, but at least the paddle steamer made an effort to conceal the obvious concern he had for the younger tug’s health. 

With a shadow of his former grace, Hercules slipped off his gunwale and stepped onto the dock, “What has you up this early on a Sunday, m’dear?”

“Ach, I just need to talk to Captain Star about my next boiler blowdown. It’s starting to feel scummy and I want to make sure I have it done soon,” OJ took Hercules’ arm and the two slowly made their way towards the marina office. “And how are you doing, lad? I notice the babe seems to be growing well.”

Hercules grinned ruefully and rubbed a hand across the top of his belly, “That it is. I hardly fit in my berth anymore. Press my back against the bulkhead and it still threatens to hang over the side.”

OJ laughed, “That is a problem. How much longer did you say you had?”

“Well, I just reached 7 months. So there’s another 3 to go.”

“You’ll survive it. And if you need help, don’t forget to ask for it.”

“. . . Right.”

Reaching the office they parted ways, OJ going to talk with Captain Star while Hercules went into a side room to meet with Patricia. 

“Oh, Hercules, how are you this morning?” Patricia smiled as he walked in and took a seat on the lumpy old sofa. 

“Sore,” The tug answered truthfully. Patricia had made it very clear early on that there was no use lying or trying to put on a brave face for her, “Tired. And I can’t bend anymore to flake my lines so my deck is a mess.”

Patricia nodded and made a mental note to speak to her husband about that later. She was sure one of the other Star tugs wouldn’t mind cleaning up Hercules’ deck if only the tug weren’t too stubborn to ask. “Well, I’m afraid that’s only going to get worse. The most weight gain occurs during the third trimester.”

Hercules groaned. He already missed being able to see his toes when he looked down, it was hard to imagine that he was going to get even –bigger.-

“On the positive side, you should be able to breathe a little easier soon. Over the new few weeks the baby will be shifting lower to prepare for birth, relieving the pressure on you lungs. However, it will probably make walking more difficult.”

“Wonderful.” Trading one problem for another. With a sigh, Hercules vanished his clothing and prepared for the physical part of the examination. 

 

 

Hercules didn’t like going ashore, as he was very aware of the looks he got from the humans as he walked around, but he had promised to keep visiting Lucy. So once he got through with his morning work and had lunch, he took the afternoon off and into town. It was fortunate that his human body wasn’t sensitive to temperature, because the weather was getting hot and Hercules wasn’t about to part with his thick sweater to try and disguise the shape of his body. Not that there was much he could do to hide his bulge at this point, but it at least made him feel a little better. 

At Lucy’s apartment, he gave a courtesy knock before using his key to get inside. Lucy wasn’t home yet, so he plucked a book he had been reading off the coffee table and sat down on the couch to wait. 

Ten pages from the end the door opened and Lucy walked in with arms full of grocery bags. She struggled to close the door with her foot, so Hercules set his book down and heaved himself off the couch, “Here, let me help darling.”

 

“No, I’m fine. Don’t-” Lucy protested even as Hercules took a few of the heavier bags and headed for the kitchen, “Darnit, Hercules. You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”

 

“I might be pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I’m incapable,” Hercules hefted the bags up onto the kitchen counter and started unpacking them. 

 

“Nope, I’ll put these away myself. Back to the couch with you.” Lucy shooed the large tug out of the kitchen, “Finish your book, then we can listen to the radio.”

 

Hercules frowned, but allowed himself to be ushered out of the kitchen and back to the living room. Returning to his seat on the couch, he resumed his novel. He wasn’t a particularly quick reader, so Lucy was finished up in the kitchen and had dinner started by the time he reached the last page. 

 

“Anyway, its good to see you. How are you doing?” Lucy flopped down on the couch and snuggled up next to him, one hand going to rub his belly, “Mm, look at how big you’re getting.”

 

“Trust me, I know,” Hercules shifted uncomfortably and Lucy took the hint, moving to massage his back instead, “Captain Star has me on dredger detail, which means taking a floating crane out to the harbor bar and floating out there rafted to them until they need a tow back in. Usually, it’s work for the small tugs.”

 

“Well, at least you get a chance to relax.” Lucy grinned as Hercules began to untense under her touch and melt back into the couch. “You still working with Frank and Eddie?”

 

“No, Top Hat is back on that job. I can’t bend down to secure lines anymore,” It was clear that was a sore spot, so Lucy kept up her ministrations and tried to get him de-stressed, “With the dredgers, the crane operators take a line from me, so I just lay the lines out on my side for them to grab.”

 

“Two more weeks and then you’re on break,” Lucy’s job was to keep positive, and it was one she was fortunately quite good at. “I picked up a spare little folding bed so you can stay over here with me. Time to test out all my new recipes.”

 

“Has to be more comfortable than the bed in my wheelhouse.” It had gone from a minor to major annoyance. Hercules didn’t know how human crew managed to sleep on those things. He did hope he’d be able to sleep without the rocking of the waves, though. 

 

“Nope, the folding bed is for me. You get my bed mister. The name of the game is taking care of you, after all.” Lucy wasn’t about to let him take the folding cot. 

 

“I’m not about to take your bed from you. I’ll be just fine on a cot.” Hercules insisted. He shifted uncomfortably when the baby moved, a hand or a foot pressing out against his skin. 

 

“Well, too bad. Because the cot is mine. Unless you want to share the big bed, but you aren’t sleeping on the cot for a month.” With an evil grin, Lucy leaned in and started tickling her friend’s belly, “And look who wants to come and play.”

 

The baby rolled inside him and Hercules tried to escape, but couldn’t get away from the attack, “Ah, Lucy. Dammit.” He couldn’t help but laugh, though, even as he tried to get leverage to escape from the couch.

 

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop abusing your insides,” Lucy mercifully stopped and went over to the radio to turn it on, “It’s time for the afternoon show anyway.”

 

“We’ll see if I can concentrate on it,” Hercules shifted to get some pressure off his lower back and rubbed at his belly with both hands. It felt like the baby was trying to escape, Lucy had gotten it all riled up. “Why do I keep visiting you?”

 

“Because you love me,” Lucy stuck her tongue out and reclaimed her seat as the radio announcer gave the station jingle. “Besides, you’ve gotta play with babies. They need the stimulation.”

 

“You can play with it all you want as soon as it’s out of me.” 

 

It turned out that having someone pummel your insides was pretty good motivation for staying awake through a radio show, though Hercules figured he only heard about half of it. When it was done, Lucy left the radio on for the jazz programme that followed and went into the kitchen to start up dinner. Left on the couch, Hercules grabbed a new novel and get back to reading. He figured by the time this was over, he’d probably have read every book in Lucy’s apartment. 

 

Dinner was some new recipe Lucy was trying out. Hercules was her cooking guinea pig, an impartial opinion of sorts on her food. It wasn’t the best arrangement, since the tug didn’t have a very strong sense of taste and would eat just about anything, but it was free food. 

 

Lucy tried to get Hercules to spend the night, but he insisted on going back to the Star Dock. He wasn’t on break yet, after all. So instead Lucy escorted him back to the waterfront and helped him back aboard his tug body. Hercules wasn’t about to say something, but he was starting to look forward to his time off. Climbing up the ladder to his wheelhouse was starting to become a real chore. 

 

Dredger detail was on the schedule for the next week. It was an all day job, which meant going up to the office in the mornings and fetching his lunch so he could eat out on the water. Captain Star was keeping a sharp eye on him whenever he shuffled into the office, feeling bigger every day. And every morning he got that same question, “You doing okay, Hercules?”

 

“Just fine, Captain Star sir,” Hercules picked up his lunch pail, which was helpfully set on the desk for him. The Captain just watched and shook his head. At this point, the tug’s shuffling walk was more of a waddle, and he was just surprised Hercules was still trying to insist on working. 

 

Finally, one morning Captain Star gave the word that Hercules was officially on leave until the baby was born. The tug stiffened at the command, but gave a sharp “yes sir.” Orders were orders. 

 

Hercules was just gathering up a few things when Iver Foss landed at the dock, having just returned from a long haul job up the coast. 

 

“Oh, hello, Hercules. You going on leave now?” 

 

“Yep, Captain Star just gave me my orders.” Hercules straightened and stretched, trying to ease out a kink in his back, “I’m heading into town to stay with a friend for a while. She’s got a better bed than that rock up in my wheelhouse.”

“Well here, I’ll walk with ya.” Iver gave his mooring lines a tug and walked over, “I ain’t been into town, I’d like to see it.”

“Alright, darling. I’ll introduce you to my human friend.” Small bag of things in hand, Hercules headed for the top of the dock, Iver keeping pace with him easily.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever met a human before. Well, besides my owners. How’d you meet one, you spend more time out at sea than I do way I hear it.”

“I like to walk around the waterfront when I’m in port, and I rescued her one night from some creep and escorted her home. We’ve been friends since then. Usually we just go out to see movies together, but she’s offered to let me stay over while I’m on enforced leave.” The talking was a good distraction as they walked towards the downtown central district. Over the course of the last week, the baby had shifted lower in his abdomen and it was making walking quite the chore.

“Wow. I should try that up in Seattle. Always wanted to meet a human,” Iver noticed he was having a hard time and felt some concern. “You doing alright?”

“Oh, just fine, m’dear.” Hercules was not about to let someone coddle him. He was going to walk to Lucy’s building and that was that. “We just gotta keep up this pace, we’re almost there.”

“If you say so. Yannow, I don’t know how you’re keeping so strong. I don’t know anyone else that could’ve handled something like this.”

 

“Thank you, sweetheart. It’s been a challenge, but it’s almost over now.” And Hercules couldn’t wait. He was desperate to get back out on the open sea.

Iver nodded, staring at the passing humans with unabashed fascination, “What will you do with the baby once it’s born?”

“Captain Star and his wife will be taking the babe.” They had finally reached Lucy’s apartment. Hercules opened the door and headed for the elevator. He normally took the stairs, not trusting the rattling device, but there was no way he was going to be able to take five flights of stairs this far along.

“Well that’s nice of them. You’ll be able to see the child again and such,” Iver eyed the elevator nervously as they stepped inside, “Is this one of those human elevators? You sure this is safe?”

“Reasonably.”

The bell boy gave them a weary look before shutting the doors and taking them up. Iver grabbed the rails in the elevator in surprise at the sudden jerk and held them in a death grip until the machine jolted to a stop at their floor.

With a monotone reminder to mind the gap, the two stepped off onto the sixth floor and tried to shake off the tension from the ride.

“How do humans stand those?” Iver was the most shaken up, having never ridden anything like that in his life.

“I have no idea.” Hercules responded drily. Stopping in front of Lucy’s door, he gave it a sharp rap. “Here we are. Prepare yourself.”

Before Iver could ask what he meant, the door was flung open and Lucy sprung out, throwing her arms around Hercules, “I see Captain Star finally threw your fat butt out. You’re just in time for breakfast.” Retreating slightly, she noticed Iver standing there awkwardly, “Oh, who’s this?”

“Oh, uh, I’m Iver Foss, ma’am.” He stuttered nervously. After a moment, he remembered his manners and held out his hand to shake.

“He’s the ocean tug Captain Star chartered to replace me for a bit,” Hercules supplied at Lucy’s confused look. She was getting better at telling living ships apart from humans, but she wasn’t perfect yet.

“Oh, yes of course. You’re a tug. Well, come in. I suppose you don’t eat, but you can sit and listen to the morning radio.”

“Thank you for the offer, ma’am, but I must be going. I’m sure the Captain has another job for me. I’ll see you later, Hercules,” Tipping his hat, Iver vanished.

“I almost forgot you could do that.” Lucy muttered as she ushered Hercules in and closed the door. “Alright, nothing fancy for breakfast. Just eggs and bacon, hope you don’t mind.”

“Course not, darling. I’ll eat just about anything.” Hercules walked into the kitchen to serve himself a plate, but Lucy quickly shooed him to the couch and got the food herself.

“I am going to be strictly enforcing that you not do any work this month,” Lucy instructed, sitting down with her own breakfast, “This is your month off and you are going to take it off.”

“I can still get my own food,” Hercules protested, balancing the plate on top of his belly so he wouldn’t have to reach for it.

 

“Not when I’m here,” Lucy’s face softened, “It’s not a crime to let yourself be pampered, you know. I know you’re a big tough tugboat, but that doesn’t mean you have to do everything for yourself.”

“I’m sure you’ll make sure of that.” Hercules arranged the pillows around himself more comfortably and settled in to listen to the morning radio. 

 

Though Hercules was quite happy with the idea of spending the remainder of his pregnancy holed up in Lucy’s apartment, she wasn’t about to let him get away with living on her couch for a full month. 

Hands on her hips, Lucy looked fondly at the figured laying on her bed. It was nearly noon, but Hercules was still fast asleep. Not that she blamed him, the baby had apparently been determined to keep him up half the night to the point that Lucy had moved to the couch in order to get a few winks. 

Gently, Lucy reached down and gave the tug’s shoulder a shake. “Alright, up and at ‘em, Hercules. We’ve got a movie to go and see.”

“Movie?” Hercules felt around for his glasses on the side table and put them on, “I can’t go out to the theatre like this, Lucy.”

 

“Well why not? You keep saying you’re not an invalid. Plenty of women go out and keep doing things through their pregnancy, no reason you can’t come out to the theatre with me.” 

 

“-Women-” Hercules emphasised, hefting himself off the bed and smoothing out his clothes, “Human women. Not male tugboats. I can’t go out in public like this.”

 

“Bah,” Lucy waved her hand dismissively, “I’m going to make lunch, then we’ll catch an early show. There won’t even be that many people in the theatre. Get on some nice clothes.”

 

He wasn’t going to win this fight, that was clear. Wearing something nice wasn’t about to happen, though. Hercules made some concession by exchanging his ratty yellow sweater for a dark blue one, keeping his black pants and shoes. He was incredibly thankful that he still retained the ability to change clothes with a thought and didn’t have to try and go buy things that fit. Or try to bend down and pull shoes on. 

 

Lucy wasn’t terribly impressed by his clothing choices, but was just satisfied that she was getting him out of the house at all. She held onto his arm and smiled as they walked slowly down the street, trying to keep Hercules distracted with conversation and jokes. 

 

Rather than visit the big movie palace, they went to a closer neighborhood theatre. It was much smaller and not nearly as nice, but Lucy didn’t want to make Hercules walk too far. She was already pushing her luck getting him to come out to the movies with her. 

 

“Well, at least you can eat the popcorn with me this time,” Lucy kept positive as she bought their tickets and got snacks from concessions. “Any preference for soda pop?”

 

Hercules shook his head. “I’ll just share yours.”

 

“Okay, then. Lets get seats.” Normally the two always fought for that sweet spot in the center, but this time Lucy headed for the front along the side so Hercules could sit on the aisle and not try and squeeze between the seats. It already a tight fit just trying to get into the small theatre seat for him. Lucy desperately wanted to crack a joke about it, but refrained. 

 

“I don’t want to hear a single comment about me not fitting in the seats,” Hercules grumbled as he reached a hand into the bucket of popcorn and took a handful. 

 

“My lips are zipped,” Lucy assured as the previews began. 

 

The film for the night was a Buster Keaton flick. The comedy master was aboard a ship that night, causing havok as usual, and Hercules actually quite enjoyed himself. Even after he got a crick in his back and the baby started acting up around halfway through. 

 

After the credits rolled, they calmly waited for the theatre to empty before getting up to leave. Hercules levered himself out of his chair and headed up for the exit, rubbing at his back to try and work the kinks out of it. 

 

“Enjoy the movie?” Lucy moved closer to help massage his back. 

 

“Yeah. It was a good one. I’m still glad that I work alone, though. Human crews are too much trouble.”

 

“We aren’t that bad,” She teased and gave him a poke, “Come on, lets go out to a restaurant for dinner.”

 

The last thing Hercules wanted to do was go out around more humans looking how he did, but he sensed that Lucy wasn’t about to let him hide back in her apartment. “If it’s a small place. I don’t want to deal with crowds today.”

 

“Alright. I know a great little place, it’s not too far from here.” 

 

Lucy lead the way to a wonderful little family-owned Italian place. They were seated in a quiet corner where the waiter took their order then left them alone. Hercules took a deep breath and relaxed, enjoying the time out of the apartment and away from people. It was nice to get out in the city every once in a while, admittedly. 

 

After their movie outing, Lucy gave Hercules a few days to recover before trying to get him outside again. It was August and Bigg City was being hit by its usual heat wave. Hercules might not be bothered by it, but the humans of the city were overheating and flocking to the beaches and pools of the city. 

 

Coming home one afternoon on a three-digit temperature day, Lucy found Hercules calmly sitting on the couch reading and made her announcement, “How’d you like to go for a swim?”

 

“What?” Hercules dropped his book and gave his friend a look, “Darling, I look like a knitted bouy as it is, I don’t need to go out and float to prove it.”

 

“You do not look like a bouy.” She rolled her eyes, “It’s over a hundred degrees outside, and a swim would be really nice. I hear swimming is also supposed to be really good for pregnant people. You know, get the weight and strain off your back.”

 

“It would also require me to take all my clothes off. I’m not going to do that around people.”

 

“Oh come on. I spend enough time around you boats, I know a private beach that will be totally empty of people. Just us two.”

 

This was another fight he wasn’t winning. He just had to trust that Lucy wouldn’t embarass him too badly out in public. And it was incredibly hot outside. Hercules felt out of place in his knit sweater around so many people in short sleeved shirts and high-hemmed dresses, but wasn’t about to discard it in the middle of the city. 

 

As promised, the beach Lucy had found was small and out of the way at the end of the working district. It was small and pebbled and completely empty of people. Lucy smiled and stripped out of her dress, wearing a brand new swimsuit underneath. It was one of the new styled ones, skintight without sleeves and only a small skirt. 

 

Lucy made a show of dipping her toe in the water before jumping right in. It was a bit cold, but it felt great in the afternoon heat. “Come on, Hercules. The water’s great.”

 

Hercules hesitated as he sat on shore, before sighing and concentrating on his clothes. His sweater and pants flickered out of existence, replaced by a pair of black swim trunks. It was the most exposed he’d ever been to someone besides Patricia Star. He closed his eyes, just waiting for there to be a snarky comment, but Lucy wisely kept her mouth shut.  
He had to admit, the water was nice. The cold didn’t affect him any more than the heat did, but it felt good to be floating in the waves again. It was always a little unnatural to be up on solid ground for him, away from the natural moving and swaying of the tides.   
Floating on his back, Hercules let himself drift and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the lapping of the waves.

Until, of course, Lucy splashed him. Which ignited a full on war that ended with the two of them sitting in the shallows exhausted. Hercules attempted to smooth his hair back down, but it resolutely remained standing straight up. When that failed, he moved to rubbing at his glasses to try and get the water off so he could actually see again.

“Here, let me do that.” Lucy stopped laughing long enough to grab his glasses and go ashore to dry them off on her towel, “Sorry about that. I guess I need to work on my aim.”

“Something like that, darling.” Sitting shirtless like this, Hercules could see every movement of the baby inside of him. As the two watched, a foot pressed out against his navel and the baby rolled over.

“Active little tyke, isn’t it?” Lucy flopped down back in the shallows and handed his glasses back.

“You have no idea,” Hercules responded drily. Sleep was now something he caught small bits of as often as possible.

“Have you thought of names?”

Hercules stared at her like she was speaking another language, “What?”

“Come on, Hercules.” She looked at him in disbelief, “You’re maybe a week from your due date and you haven’t thought of any names?”

“I wasn’t intending to name the child. Captain Star has that right, he’s my owner,” It was obvious to the tug. Ships were christened by their human owners or builders.

Lucy smacked him on the shoulder, “You’ve carried this child for nine months and will be giving birth to it. You have more right than anyone else to pick a name. I want you to have at least one boy and one girl name. Or –at least- one gender neutral name. I’ll pick up a few baby name books at the library if you really can’t think of anything.”

That was a lot of pressure for a tug. Hercules frowned and thought, but his mind was stubbornly blank.


	3. Chapter 3

Several days later, he wasn’t any closer to coming up with a name. It was hard, trying to think of a suitable human name. He couldn’t call the child Storm Spray or Spindrift, both of which he thought were lovely names. It was incredibly frustrating for him, especially since he had little to do while cooped up in Lucy’s apartment besides read and think. He had refused any and all attempts by Lucy to lure him back outside, including the temptation of movies, the symphony, or more swimming. At this point, he felt like a cargo ship trying to maneuver through a crowd of shrimping boats whenever he went outside, so he had made the official call to just stay inside until his time came. Whether Lucy liked it or not.  
At the Star marina, Captain Star was busy organizing contracts and separating out tasks for his different tugs. He wasn’t about to admit it, but it was difficult without Hercules around. Iver Foss was a hard worker and great to have around, but he wasn’t as fast or as efficient as Hercules, a result of his smaller size and less powerful engine. Captain Star had to reconfigure all the long-haul contracts and liner dockings to account for Iver’s longer trips. It would be a relief to have Hercules back on the job.

There was a loud commotion outside on the docks, forcing the Captain to walk over to the window and see what was going on. Outside sat the small Coast Guard boat, and he was in a frenzy. The Coast Guard had gotten a radio call that the passenger ship Clallam had been seen foundering in the rough seas off Dender rocks. She was making no headway and listing heavily with an estimated 100 passengers aboard. They needed an ocean going tug to go out and rescue her. Iver Foss had just left for a job up the coast two days before, and was too far away to help. Hercules was the only ocean tug in Bigg City, and with him on leave they’d have to call to another company down the coast and get assistance from them. Which could take a day or longer. A passenger ship wouldn’t survive that long in the storm. After a moments consideration, Captain Star picked up the phone and dialed the number Hercules had left with him.

 

Hercules was sitting on the couch listening the sound of the rain pattering on the windows and reading a book when Lucy’s phone rang. She was in the shower, so he struggled to escape the comfortable confines of the couch and shuffled over to pick up the phone. “Hello?”

 

“Hello? Hercules, this is Captain Star. We have an emergency. The Clallam is out off Dender rocks foundering in the storm with a load of passengers aboard. Iver Foss is two days away, can you go out and get her?”

 

The ocean tug immediately went serious, “Of course, Captain Star sir. I’ll be there immediately. Could you have someone fire off my boiler so that I’ll be ready to go when I get there?”

 

“It’s already been done. I’ll see you when you get here. Thank you, Hercules.”

 

“Of course, darling.” Hercules hung up the phone and looked down at himself in distaste. Wrinkled clothes, shoeless, and his hat had disappeared off somewhere. With a thought, he made himself look a little more presentable. Well, presentable as he could be with a 30 pound beach ball stuck to his middle. Hercules straightened his glasses and popped his hat back onto his head. Time to get back to work.

 

“Who was that on the phone?” Lucy stepped out of the bathroom in her bathrobe, toweling off her hair, “Hercules? Are you going somewhere?”

 

“Captain Star just called. A passenger ship is stranded out at sea, and I’m needed to go bring her into port. I’ll be back tomorrow.” He headed for the kitchen to pack some food up for the trip.

 

“Oh no you don’t mister!” Lucy was suddenly in a frenzy, throwing her towel on the floor and dashing for the bedroom, “I’m coming with you, no way are you going alone out to sea in your condition.” She wasn’t about to try and dissuade him from this venture, it wouldn’t work, but she could at least go with him and make sure he didn’t do something –incredibly- stupid.

 

“What? No, Lucy. Ocean tug work is dangerous, especially out in a storm like this, you can’t just come out with me.” What was she thinking? She’d never been on a tow job in her life, there were a myriad of ways she could get hurt or worse.

 

“More the reason for me to come. What if something happens to you out at sea? What if you go into labor? You need to have someone with you and it might as well be me,” Lucy had thrown on clothes in record time and was running a brush through her wet hair. “Here, I’ll pack up some sandwiches for us. Will we be out overnight? Do you have blankets aboard?”

 

There was no winning this fight. Lucy and Hercules were both very stubborn, and when they came to odds one of them was going to have to give. Hercules sighed, “Yes, I have blankets on board. You can have one of my officer’s quarters. No need for sandwiches, just grab the fixings and we can make them out on the water.”

 

“Right, got it.” Lucy threw a bunch of bread, cheese, and meats into a bag and pulled her shoes on, “Okay, let’s go.”

 

The storm seemed much worse from outside. The rain was falling so hard it was difficult to see further than a few feet, and quickly the two were soaked despite Lucy’s umbrella. She frowned and bent against the wind, what had she gotten herself into?

 

No matter how much of a hurry they were in, Hercules could only walk at one pace. They had gone a block when Lucy hailed a taxi to take them to the marina. Hercules wasn’t fond of the idea, as he really hated the wheeled human contraptions, but couldn’t deny that it would get them to the docks much faster than walking there.

 

Captain Star was waiting when the two stepped into the Star tug office. The captain regretted calling Hercules when he saw just how much the tug had grown in the month he had been gone, but there was nothing to do about it now. “Thank you for coming, Hercules. Is this your lady friend?”

 

“Hello, Captain Star sir,” Lucy leaned forward to shake his hand, “I’m Lucy. Hercules has been staying at my place. I’m going out with him, in case something happens.”

 

Captain Star frowned, not liking the idea of sending out a regular civilian on a dangerous ocean job, but it couldn’t be a larger liability then sending out a tug that was 9 months pregnant. At least someone would be on board if something went wrong. “Alright. Here’s the coordinates for where the Clallam was last seen. She’s adrift, and with this south wind she has probably drifted north towards the rocks. According to her manifesto, she has 92 passengers aboard.”

 

That was an emergency.  “Alright, Captain Star. I’m on my way.” Hercules walked out the door and headed down the dock, Lucy right on his heels. At the end of the dock sat his real body, smoke puffing from the stack. “Get inside and out of the weather, I’ll cast us off.”

 

Climbing up the ladder to the wheelhouse was a struggle that took him several minutes, but then he was in his wheelhouse and he could finally transfer back to his real body. It felt amazing to be back, out of his awkward human body and back to being a tug.

 

Checking the pressure in his boiler, he started cycling steam through his engine to warm it back up. The first few shots of steam poured out his cylinders as water, but after a few minutes the triple-expansion engine was turning smoothly. “Alright, darling! We’re ready to go!”

 

The lines cleated on the dock unwound themselves and slumped down onto his deck as if tossed by an invisible hand. Hercules reversed away from the dock, then shifted his engine to forward and headed out of the harbor.

 

Retreating to the galley, Lucy doggedly tried to stay on her feet and put together some sandwiches. The rolling floor was stomach churning, but Lucy was very determined not to get seasick. She was here to help, and she would be of no use if she was puking over the side.

 

With sandwiches made and put into the icebox for safekeeping, Lucy steeled up her nerve and climbed up the ladder to the upper deck to sit inside Hercules’ wheelhouse. “How are you doing?”

 

“Just fine, sweetheart,” Hercules gritted his teeth as a wave broke over his bow, washing his deck with green water. The storm was even worse out here in the open sea, it was taking everything he had to keep bow first into the waves as he searched for the missing Clallam. He was also uncomfortable, sensations blending over from his human form to make his hull feel too-tight and engine fittings ache, “The seas aren’t too rough for you, I hope?”

  
“No, I’m good,” Lucy clutched the edge of her chair when they hit another wave, knuckles going white.

  
“Sorry about this, but we can’t afford to slow down.” Not with a vessel in distress waiting for them. Hercules checked the coordinates he had been given and adjusted their course to compensate.

  
“No, of course not.” Lucy would just have to deal with the rolling and rocking. “Lunch is ready for whenever you’re hungry.”

  
“Thank you, m’dear. I think I’ll take that now while we’re out in the open ocean.”

  
Lucy hopped downstairs to fetch the sandwiches and a glass of water before popping back up to the wheelhouse. Hercules’ human body was laid out on the bed in the wheelhouse, silent and unmoving as though asleep. Quite suddenly, the body took a deep breath and rolled to the side, Hercules struggling for a moment to try and sit up.

  
“Could you take the wheel for a moment while I eat darling? Just keep us on a steady course and give a shout if anything’s wrong. Thanks sweetheart.” Hercules took the sandwich and dug in.

  
“Right,” Lucy stepped up into the pilothouse and took a hold of the massive wooden wheel. It was actually a great view from up here, and made the waves look tiny. The seas were vast out here, stretching off in every direction. It was sobering and somewhat frightening, seeing the miles of rolling ocean with no land in sight.   


Finishing his sandwich, Hercules groaned and rubbed at his sides. The baby was taking up pretty much all the space inside him, and was a major strain on every part of his body. He was even having a hard time just breathing. There was some cramping along his side, which Hercules took as a sign to go back to his tug body.

  
The storm was unrelenting, giving no sign of whether it would worsen or clear up. Finally, though, Hercules spotted the dark shape of the Clallam, taking waves broadside that threatened to roll her over.

  
As they approached, Hercules whistled a greeting to the stricken steamer. Without engine power she couldn’t respond with her whistles or her fog horn, but Hercules could see passengers waving and cheering from the windows.

  
This would be a tow job, so Hercules slowed down his engines and turned to back up to the bow of the Clallam. His stern fender bumped her bow gently, then Hercules transferred to his human form and got Lucy. They would need to use Hercules’ stronger towline from the stern.

  
“Okay, darling, could you hand me the eye of that line?” Hercules pointed to his towline, unable to bend down to get it himself. Lucy quickly hopped to it and passed over the thick, heavy line. Hercules deftly tied a heaving line to the eye, a heavy monkeyfist knot clutched in his other hand. With throw that would make any baseball coach proud, the tug hurled the monkey fist up to a crew member out on the bow of the Clallam. Slowly, the man began to haul up the heavy, thick towline.

  
Another ripple of pain ran down his back, and Hercules rubbed at it tiredly as he climbed back up to the wheelhouse to get underway. The cramps were getting worse. He’d be fine until they got back to port, though. He had to be.

  
With the towline secure, Hercules slowly increased his engine power to bring the line taught. The weight of the stricken steamer was intense, but nothing he couldn’t handle. It would take them longer to return to port, though. Hopefully, the storm would let up.

  
Lucy retreated back inside to escape from the driving rain, which had already soaked through her coat to the dress underneath. It was getting late, so she decided to try and catch a few minutes of sleep.  


 “Are you going to be okay for the night, Hercules?” Lucy asked before she went and claimed the first mate’s quarters for the night.

  
“Just fine, sweetheart. I can go for a few days without sleeping,” Hercules’ voice was a little tight, but Lucy chocked it up to the strain of the tow and just bid him goodnight.

  


Hercules continued soldiering on through the night, the spotlight on his hat the only defense against the dark. It did seem, though, that the storm was starting to let up. Green water no longer poured from his scuppers, and the gut-churning peaks and troughs of the waves were lessening in intensity.

 

The horizon was just beginning to lighten off in the distance when he heard the bell of the Clallam behind him begin to clang wildly. He quickly turned his attention to his tow just in time to hear a voice call out “Drop the tow!”

 

Hercules let his line slack just as the Clallam suddenly rolled belly up and began to sink quickly. People dove from her dark form into the icy waters. Hercules immediately turned his wheel hard over and swung around, heading back for the passengers now floundering in the water. “Lucy! Lucy get out on the deck!”

 

Lucy groaned. She had just gotten to sleep when Hercules’ voice cut through the darkness in her cabin. Dimly, it registered that he was yelling. She had never heard Hercules yell in all the time she had known him.

 

The seriousness of the situation suddenly came into focus and Lucy felt instantly awake. The big ocean tug wouldn’t yell for anything less than a total emergency.

 

Stepping outside, Lucy’s eyes widened when she saw the debris field spreading across the surface of the water. People in the waves were clinging to anything that had managed to stay floating. Doors, benches, chairs, even pieces of molding and beams from the ship that had been torn off.   


“Help me pull them out,” Hercules appeared beside her, the face of his human form sweaty and his expression dark. He started throwing ropes over the side for people to cling to and began the arduous task of pulling waterlogged forms out of the dark waves. Lucy put aside her worry for her friend and focused on the task at hand.

 

 

They stayed drifting in the debris field for over an hour, pulling aboard anyone they could get their hands on, before finally calling off the search. Nothing alive was left out in the waves. Hercules retreated back to his wheelhouse while Lucy ushered everyone down into the engine room to get warm. Thirty two people huddled around the blazing boiler and churning engine in the cramped compartment. All were adult men, no women or children had survived. When Lucy asked, the Captain sadly told her that he had put the women and children to life boats when the ship had first started taking on water, only to see each raft overturn and be swept away when they were launched.

 

Once everyone had a blanket or towel of some kind, Lucy went back to the Galley to take stock of her sandwich materials. Thankfully she had overpacked, throwing in entire containers from her icebox, and would probably have just enough if she cut them into small portions.

 

Hercules kept focused on his task, trying to ignore the intensifying cramps coming from his human body. He trusted Lucy to take care of the passengers below, and they were all counting on him to get them home safely. His engine was at full steam, being pushed harder than it ever had in its life. He would probably need a good haul out after this, but it would be worth it just to get back home.

 

The sun truly broke in earnest through the clouds, dissipating the storm as though it had never been. Off in the distance, Hercules could just see the red shape of Lillie against the high rocks. They were less than an hour out. Almost home.   


There was little more Lucy could do down with their passengers. The food was gone, the blankets all damp and hung around the engine to dry. Most of the men sat staring at their hands or looking off at things unseen. A few sobbed quietly, having lost their wives and children in the wreck.

 

Leaving the depressing scene, Lucy climbed up to the wheelhouse with one last sandwich triangle, “Hercules, I have breakfast.”  


“Sounds great, darling. Set it on the desk, I’ll see if I can eat it later.” Hercules sounded incredibly stressed out, his voice tight with pain.

  
“What’s wrong?” Lucy set the sandwich she had made on the desk and noticed a large wet spot on the blankets covering Hercules’ human body. She quickly threw the blankets off, seeing that his pants and the mattress were wet as well. “Your water broke! Hercules, why didn’t you say anything? How far are we from Bigg City?”

  
“We’re about an hour or so out. And I didn’t want to worry you about it, the passengers are more important.” Thankfully, when they got to the harbor mouth the other Star tugs would be able help, because he didn’t think he could dock himself the way he was.

  
“More important? Hercules, you’re having a baby!” Lucy desperately hoped that the tug would be able to hold on until they got into port and got to Patricia. She might’ve helped her sister through two pregnancies, but she was no midwife. Lucy took a few deep breaths and tried to keep calm. Panicking wouldn’t do anyone any good. “How far apart are your contractions?”

  
“Every few minutes. It’s not bad yet. I’ll be able to get back to town.” As he spoke, another one hit. His propeller stuttered in the water and soot puffed from his stack.

  
Lucy busied herself cleaning up Hercules’ human body, making sure he would be comfortable. There were no more clean linens on the boat, but she at least tried to clean up with the least damp towel she could find. Without him in it, the human body was totally unresponsive as though asleep or in a coma, except for when it tensed up at the contractions. It was really creepy to be manipulating him like this, but it gave her something to do.

  


Fortunately, the other Stars were waiting for them once Hercules reached Lillie. He gave his whistles a grateful blast and slowed his engine back down.

  
“You doing alright, there, lad?” OJ was worried by Hercules’ haggard expression.

  
“Just fine, m’dear. The Clallam sank, I have the survivors aboard. Send the Coast Guard out to check the wreckage.” Hercules turned to the second strongest Star, Big Mac,

“Darling, could you give me a tow back into the dock?”

  
“Somethin’ wrong, Hercules?” Big Mac asked in concern.   


He was too stressed to even pretend, “I’m in labor at the moment and don’t think I can get back by myself.”

  
Big Mac’s mouth dropped open in surprise and he quickly rafted up to the larger tug. As soon as the lines were secure, he revved his engine and kicked himself up to full power. He didn’t know much about the human birthing process, but he saw how much pain Hercules was in and figured it’d be best to hurry.

  
The minute he felt Big Mac draw the lines taught, Hercules cut his engine and transferred over to his human form. The full pain hit him immediately and he jerked, throwing his head back and crying out. Lucy jumped back and put a hand to her chest, “Good god, Hercules, give a girl some warning before you do that.”

  
“Sorry to scare you sweetheart.” Hercules squeezed his eyes shut and fisted his hands in the sheets, arching his back. Good lord but it hurt, like a giant fist had clenched around his middle and was squeezing as hard as it could.

  
“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry.” Lucy fluffed up a pillow and carefully stuck it under the small of his back, helping taking off some of the tension there, “You doing okay?”

  
If one more person asked him if he was okay, he was going to scream, “I’m in the middle of giving birth to a baby, no I am not okay. I haven’t been okay in months. And I won’t be okay again until this thing  is out and I’m back to normal again!”

  
Lucy raised her eyebrows, but didn’t respond. She had never heard him get angry or frustrated in the year she’d known him, but this was certainly the time for it. So instead, she bent down and started massaging the tight muscles of his sides and belly, “Well, it’ll be over soon. You’ve done a great job the last few months, and this is the end game.”

  
Outside, there was a loud triple-blast from Big Mac’s whistle as he slid them into the Star dock and jumped over to secure mooring lines to keep Hercules steady. Emergency services were already waiting there to assist the survivors of the Clallam. Slowly, the blanket-clad humans shuffled off the boat and into the waiting vehicles. Lucy gave Hercules a pat, “Okay, I’m going to run out and get Patricia and Captain Star. I’ll just be a minute.”

  
She carefully scaled the ladder and jumped onto the dock, then ran up to the office building and burst into the office without even bothering  to knock, “Captain Star sir, is your wife here?”

  
“Lucy?” Captain Star looked up from his papers in shock, “Is the Clallam in? And Patricia is on her way, she wanted to give Hercules a check up when he got in. We weren’t expecting you back for a few more hours at least.”

  
“The Clallam sank, the survivors are on their way to the hospital. Hercules’ water broke on the way back, he’s in labor right now.”

  
Captain Star immediately threw his paperwork aside and stood up. “Patricia is maybe five or ten minutes away. I’ll send her down the second she comes in. How is he doing?”

  
“He’d probably rip your arm off for asking him that, but otherwise he’s doing fine.” She laughed a bit and turned back for the door. “I’m going to go back and sit with him.”

  
Patricia arrived a few minutes later, thank goodness, and was immediately all business. The original plan was to have Hercules give birth in the office, but at this point there was no way they would be able to get him out of the wheelhouse. So instead she carried her supplies down the dock and had Captain Star and Lucy lift it all up to the upper deck.

  
Captain Star only lasted a few minutes in the wheelhouse before he went outside and tried very hard not to faint in front of his wife. There was a reason he worked in shipping and not in the medical business.

  
Lucy and Patricia stayed on hand to tend to the birth, though, and had a slightly stronger constitution than the Captain. Hercules was doing great, and Patricia was honestly impressed by how calm he was keeping through the pain of the contractions. He had already been in labor for almost twelve hours, and it was going textbook perfectly.

  
“Okay, I can see the head,” Patricia was knelt down between his legs while Lucy held on tightly to his hand, “Doing great Hercules. Just a little bit more.”

  
With another great heave, the baby slid out into her hands. Patricia quickly cut the umbilical cord and gave the baby a good pat. With a cry, the little boy wiggled wildly in her arms as she tried to towel him off, “It’s a baby boy. Have you thought of any names?”

  
Hercules panted and looked up at her tiredly. There was one name he had in mind, hopefully they liked it. “I had thought, the name Triton sounds nice.” He looked up at the two ladies for confirmation that he had chosen a suitable human name.

  


Lucy smiled, “It’s a lovely name. Triton Star.”

  
With a great sigh of relief, Hercules’ human form flickered and vanished.

  
Patricia was noticeably startled by his disappearing act, but Lucy just sighed and took baby Triton. He was incredibly cute, and had already stopped crying. Instead, he was staring up at her with big blue wonderful eyes. Lucy’s heart melted, and she sincerely hoped that Hercules would bring Triton over when he visited.

  
Captain Star was bonding with the new baby when Hercules’ human form suddenly reappeared on the bed. His hair was tousled and he appeared exhausted, but otherwise he was back to normal. That was some impressive recuperative power.

  
“Hey Triton. It’s time to meet your daddy,” Patricia carefully took the baby from her husband’s arms and handed him over to Hercules.

  
The tug was visibly nervous as he accepted the baby, holding him like a piece of fragile glass. Lucy laughed, “Don’t just stand there, Hercules. Talk to him.”

  
Hercules made the most hilariously stricken face but started murmuring to his son. Triton clearly liked the familiar voice, tiny hands curling around his father’s shirt. Slowly Hercules became more comfortable and carefully sat down on the bed, stroking his fingers through Triton’s sparse black hair. “He’s completely human?” The tug looked up at Patricia for confirmation.

  
“He’s a totally normal, healthy baby boy.” Patricia smiled.

  
“Good,” Hercules suddenly flickered, and he quickly handed the child back before vanishing again. He was too exhausted to try and stay solid. Now, it was time for some rest.

  
  


Hercules took the next couple days off to rest and recuperate. He couldn’t make a solid human form for more than a few minutes, so instead Patricia or Lucy sat out on the bow with Triton and encouraged Hercules to tell stories and just talk so that Triton could get used to his father’s voice. The other Star tugs had all gotten a chance to meet the new family member, and they always made a point to swing by and play with the baby between jobs.

  
As much as he loved spending time with his son, though, Hercules was eager to get back out to sea and jumped at the chance when a long-haul job to Hawaii came up. With a large supply barge in tow, Hercules headed out past the harbor bar and out into the open sea. Life was back to normal. Except now he had even more to come home to when the week was done.


End file.
